Daylilies are an excellent food ingredient, rich in nutrients, and are generally safe to eat. However, because daylilies can have incompatibilities with some other foods, caution is advised when consuming them. For example, they should not be eaten with sweet potatoes and other similar foods.
I. What not to eat with daylilies
It is best not to eat too many daylilies with high-fiber foods like sweet potatoes, as it can easily cause diarrhea. Do not eat too many daylilies with "heaty" foods like fried dough sticks, as it can easily lead to phlegm-heat.
Consuming daylilies with goose meat damages the spleen and stomach; eating them with rabbit meat or persimmons can cause diarrhea. Additionally, daylilies should not be eaten with soft-shelled turtles, carp, soy milk, or tea. Donkey meat and daylilies--when eaten together, they can be fatal. Furthermore, fresh daylilies are toxic and must not be eaten! They contain colchicine in their pollen, which is highly toxic. Daylilies must always be eaten after being dried in the sun.
II. Precautions for eating fresh daylilies to prevent poisoning
Daylilies are also called golden needles by some, and they have a more romantic name: the forget-me-not. Of course, they have many other names as well.
Freshly picked daylilies contain colchicine, which, after entering the human body, is oxidized into a substance called dihydrocolchicine. This is a highly toxic substance that can severely irritate the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.
People who suffer from mild colchicine poisoning from consuming small amounts generally experience symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, which will disappear on their own. However, severe cases may present with symptoms like bloody stools and hematuria, requiring hospital treatment.
After bringing fresh daylilies home, they must first be blanched in boiling water and then soaked in water for several hours. Only after this processing can the daylilies be eaten.
Dried daylilies have been steamed and sun-dried, and the colchicine in them has been destroyed by heat, so eating dried daylilies will not cause poisoning. Colchicine can cause serious harm to a fetus, so pregnant women should best avoid eating it.